Perhaps it makes the parents (and students) realize how hard it is to get the one spot out of 4, or out of 10 if we are talking Ivy. All the apps are deserving, but does the AO go with the kid who has been in band for 4 years, volunteers at the Red Cross, builds houses at Habitat on weekends or the kid with a gpa that is 0.2 points higher? Do they take the perfect test score kid or the class president?